Frustrated, Hopeful, Scared and Disapointed!!!! What a Rollercoaster!!

Yesterday my brother called and said that the Doctors from the Mayo want to operate on Hailey. They want to try to cut or thin the inner front of the eye to make room for her growing Retina so it wont fold anymore. If it works it could prevent future retinal folds and help her vision to stay the same. It would not do anything for the fold that is already there...just to be clear. Now I just got another call from the doctors in Tucson saying they want to see Hailey and Jayden back early next week to do more tests. Here we go again.....

As much as I love seeing my cute kids in their glasses I was really excited for them to get their contacts. I am really disappointed! I just got the call that they are not going to be able to make their contacts. Their was only one company that will even make contacts in the powers that they need and the Doctor said that their eyes are just to small, that with that kind of curve and kind of power it just wont work.

When Hailey was trying the contacts on and we found that they didn't fit the Doctor had her read the eye chart. She was seeing quite a bit better just having the prescription on her eye. I was really excited about that, and now she can't get the contacts. This really stinks!

Derek plays dress-up by putting on glasses! He wants to be just like his older brother and sister.

The Library Events are really cool.....who would have thought!

This is one of the many reptiles we got to see at the reptile show. I guess these are all this mans pets...yikes!!! Thanks to the Liberian who put my kids on the front row so they could see!!

The kids even got to pet the giant snake. I cant believe they did it!

MY BROTHER"S HERE!!!!! 2 down only 6 more to get here!!! Come on Fam...AZ is the best!

My brother Jaren, His cute wife Britney, and their three kids are here! Jaren just graduated from USC in pediatric dentistry and will be practicing in Phoenix. He was top of his class and is a perfectionist, if anyone wants his number.

His wife Britney is so much fun and is quickly becoming one of my best friends! Thanks Jaren for bringing her to us. We love you Britney!

I only had a picture of their baby, surprising because his girl are really photogenic...adorable. He has a 4 year old girl Clara, a 2 year old girl Vivian, and baby boy Dalyn. Derek loves him already as you can see. I'm sure they will be buddies.

Happy 30th Birthday Emily!!!!

We had so much fun this weekend with my sister for her 30th birthday! My parents surprised her and came to visit from Utah! I didn't have any good pictures of them...darn! Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!!

Em, I think you are getting too old for individual candles!

We made my sister Queen for a day and took her to lunch and to get a pedicure. You cant see it but her crown has the number 30 on it. She wore it all day. She is a good sport!

My niece Kayla really fell asleep this way. We must have tired her out will all the festivities!

What could I say about this picture.... I just wanted to post it because I think Derek is so cute! This is Derek on Emily's birthday (ha ha). We have a joke in my family that applies here...kinda. There are nine kids and we have twins at the end and they are in all the pictures. We always say.... "oh, there is Stephen and Stephanie on my 10th birthday and there they are again on my 16th birthday...I wonder what they were doing on my wedding day. Lots of pictures of them. They really are the most interesting though....we all love them so much, so we are glad they are documented on all our special occasions:)!

HAPPY PIONEER DAY

The whole group at the Rodeo!

The Pioneer celebration came early this year on the 19th of July. We went to Snowflake and we had a blast! Friday morning Judd went to a Golf Tournament with Clint and the boys while all of the rest of us went to the Flake reunion (barbecue and Rodeo).

When Hailey wasn't mauling the Dog, she was playing with her cousins Jessica and Camille.

Watch OUT for the bull!!
The rest of the day the kids had so much just being free to do whatever they wanted. Jayden played the whole day with his cusins Maeser and Brendon. Hailey spent her time outside with the dog......big surprise...not! The girl is crazy about dogs. Later that night Judd and I went to watch Tyler, Judd's friend, compete in the real Rodeo. It was crazy!

Thanks for running Lyndi!!

Saturday morning was the Fun Run. Lyndi and I ran it together. The terraine was rough. The race was on the Golf course Trail which in gravel and they had the sprinklers on all night so it was muddy gravel (not too smart). There was also a lot of large hills and small hills, hills the whole darn time. It was hard but Lyndi and I both got a medal for our age group.

Derek and His Bestest Friend Aunt Lyndi "nin ne"

Like usual Hailey found a dog to pet!!

Some of the Group Waiting for the Parade to start!

Time for the parade! I love the parade but I always get a little sad too because my kids can never pick up the candy fast enough. My cute little nephew Maeser, who is almost six, was giving ALL of his candy to Hailey! So sweet! Then Maeser was standing right in front of a piece of candy and Jayden picked it up. I told Jayden,"Maeser was going for that piece so why don't you give it to him." Maeser yelled out, "No Bekah I was blocking for Jayden so he could get it."

SO SO SWEET!!! I love Maeser!!

Blossom Fashion Show (part of the pioneer festivities)

After the parade I got roped into doing a fashion show with my friend Jacque. I was so nervous, and right before I wanted to change my mind and back out, butI didn't and I ended up having a lot of Fun. There were 13 girls, we wore three outfits each. They did our hair and make-up. Alot of time but really fun. The fashion show was for a local store called Blossom, they have one here in Mesa too! Cute stuff. I bought two of my outfits.

Good thing Derek is so cute and Clint and Lyndi's family love him so much or else we may have been walking home!!

Saturday night all the Adults went out to dinner and then Lyndi and Clint took Derek and I home. Lyndi had to leave to get Kalyn back to go to EFY and I wanted to come home and see my parents who were visiting from Utah. On the way home Derek got carsick and threw up all over Kalyn and the car. I felt so bad. Then when we were almost home I realized that I forgot the key to my house and I was locked out. I was so excited for my bed too. Dang! Luckily I had Lyndi.

This is my new hair cut! This is the first time I have had bangs since elementary. We will see if I can style it by myself today. yikes...

I cut off a lot of hair !!!! It feels so good!

Thank You!!!! Thank You!!!! Thank You!!!

Wow, the last two days have been really hard!! There has been little sleep, little eating, lots of testing, a lot more worrying, but even more prayers and love than I could have imagined. So many have helped make the past two days a little easier. Thank you so much to my sister Emily who got a babysitter for her kids, and dropped everything to come with me to Tucson, I could not have done it without you! Thank you also to Lena, who fed my family the night before I left and then was waiting in my driveway with gift bags for me and each of the kids when we pulled out to leave. Thank you to Jeff and Mary, who opened their house to us while we were in Tucson, that made a huge difference. Thank you to my sister-in-law Brittney who came and spent the day babysitting Derek so I could finish with my last two Doctor appointments. Thank you so much to all those who fasted and prayed for us. Thank you to all of my friends and family who have listened and been there to comfort me. Lastly, thanks to all those who have offered their help, I really appreciate it. I can see the huge support group that will be there to rally around Hailey and help her through this difficult trial she will have to face. We all love her so much!

Details of the Tucson Trip

We ended up leaving early Tuesday morning instead of Monday. I was a wreck on Monday, I let my worries and lack of sleep get the best of me. We woke up Early on Tuesday at 5:30AM and left by 6:30AM. (way early for the kids) The first appointment was the Retinal specialist to see Jayden and Derek. He did all the same tests on them as he had done on Hailey. They are both clear!!!!!! I would have been shocked if Derek had the problem, but all the Doctors told me that Jayden would most likely have the same problem as Hailey because he is also very farsighted and has bi-lateral Ambliopia too. My stomach was sick. I was just sure Jayden was going to have it and his Retina were perfect. HUGE RELIEF!!! After this appointment Emily and I took the kids to Jeff and Mary's house (relatives we have only 8 miles from the doctors office). We ate lunch and let Hailey and Derek take a quick nap.

Next It was off to the Pediatric Opthamoligist for more tests on Hailey and to get a new prescription for Jayden and Hailey both. Last time Dr. Banuelos didn't want to give them a new prescription because she was unsure of the Retinal Problem. Hailey had a few tests done and I'm not sure what all of them were for. But she had an ultrasound on her eye where the doctor confirmed her diagnosis of posterior nanopthalmos. (a rare condition causing a small or deformed back part of the eye) She was so good during all of her tests. The ultrasound test took at least 30 minutes and she had to be very still and close her eye just right while the Doctor probed the whole eye area. Everyone was impressed and I was relieved that she didn't need any sedation to do the tests.

After the tests the Doctor was talking to me and the kids were playing about 5 feet away in a kids area. All of the sudden Jayden comes up to me and tells me that he cant find Hailey. Me and 4 or 5 of the staff including the Doctor were looking for her...scary. (this was a huge building with halls and rooms galore) The resident doctor found her hiding under a chair in the next lobby over. So after waisting 10 minutes of the doctors time I very sternly told them to stay right here and play while I finished talking to the Doctor. They usually are very good at staying by me, I don't know what was up with them. Not more than 5 minutes later I look over and they were both gone. So we went searching again....This time we found them in the men's bathroom, and yes I had to go in after Hailey. If they hadn't been so good for all of their test that may have been it for them. I was so embarrassed!!

Both Doctors in Tucson think I should see a Pediatric Retinal Specialists in Michigan, Dr. Trese, to see if he can help Hailey. They say once I get his opinion, I have gone to the top, He is the best of the best. The next morning my doctor in Utah, Dr Abrahms, called. I told him that they want me to see Dr. Trese in Michigan. He told me that Dr. Trese is a friend of his and that he has already been emailing information on Hailey to him. Right now Dr. Trese is in China doing research so when he gets back he will have all the images waiting for him. Most of them can't be emailed or faxed. Dr. Abrams said that if Dr.Trese can help me he will be able to tell by looking at the images. The images should tell him more than what he can see by looking at her in person. So now we have a diagnosis but we are back to waiting.

Today it was off to the optometrists. The Doctors in Tucson helped me find a good Optometrist close to me house. This will be nice since they will be getting contacts and this may require frequent visits. I am really excited about the contacts. I have heard it is hard at first. Once they get use to the contacts though they will be able to do things like lay down to watch a movie without their glasses bothering them and wear goggles while swimming like all the other kids. Jayden is really excited for that. I have been told that getting contacts will improve their vision a little too.